Dano523

Location of the slave slave cylinder on the end of the torque tube, hence torque tube, trans, rear suspension and rear cradle has to be remove to get to it.



So with the drive line pulled to get to the slave cylinder, your have quick access to the clutch to pull the bell housing to check it as well.

C5 (can tell by the bell housing), but close to the same getting to the clutch; once you have the drive line out.


Master cylinder on the other hand, walk in the part, since you just put the car on a lift, remove the drivers front tire, remove the back wheel well liner in that well and it right there instead.
To replace, remove the master rod end from the clutch pedal stud, release the coupling from the slave cylinder side, twist the master cylinder to release it from the fire wall so you can pull it forward, and you have it in hand. To reinstall, reverse order, and at the end, powder bleed the clutch fluid, and your done.


So to change a master cylinder, about an hours worth of work only.

To get to the slave, major work as well as the getting to the master cylinder so you can release the coupling of it from the master cylinder isntead.

Master cylinder,


Slave cylinder,

919cw313

Ah, good call. My mind skipped right over the "slave" part since the thread is about the master.

Can we safely assume Rick meant master cylinder and not slave cylinder in his post, since the dealer replaced the part under the special coverage?

Dano523

Don't know, since may have been a recall on slave cylinders that the Throw out bearings were bad from the start (what would make the whirling noise), and would warrant some special recall to replace the slave cylinders on some models.

flyboyfreddy3

My 2008 Coupe with 5000 ( Five thousand) miles just following a dealership service check, CLUTCH FAILURE in 4th gear. The pedal would not return. I said,"Oh Sh_t"... my girlfriend said,"what's wrong".
I said clutch pedal failure. I got the car home with out shifting. Called roadside service and the second flat bed tow truck knew how to load my Vette.
The dealership said the Master cylinder was contaminated. Chevrolet did not lable the clutch reservoir service cap with what type of fluid to use. It should be DOT 4, synthetic. I think the technician added DOT 3 which is what the brake reservoir takes. So I got a clutch replacement with new cylinders.

RickCC6

Yes sorry, i got the master replaced with that recall. my question is, now that i need the slave cylinder, throwout bearing and clutch. would that be in effect to the slave cylinder being bad? when i did perform the removal of clutch flluid via ranger method, it was completely black. I guess what im asking is...is it because of the master cylinder that the other parts failed? warranty doesnt want to cover it, but maybe i can argue that the master cylinder caused for the other parts to wear out?

Dano523

Nope on blaming the master cylinder recall as causing the slave and clutch problems.


When the master fails, it just pops the end plunger seal off the end of the master rod, and when you go to push the pedal in, nothing happens on the slave side down line since the master is not sending pressure to the slave then.

As for slave/clutch parts, as you have already figured out, then like the brake pads, are wearable parts and not covered under warranty.

RickCC6

Thanks for the explanation Dano! time to bite the bullet and just get it fixed. good news is i found a shop that will do the work for way cheaper than the dealer. I've heard good things from these guys so i hope all works out well.